![running sheep herd running sheep herd](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZIILavOemcc/maxresdefault.jpg)
For Wallace, using guard dogs, a llama and a donkey with each herd and has been effective. Predators are another issue, especially for sheep. Additionally, cross fences are two-strand electrified high-tensile. He uses a single electrified wire with existing three- to five-strand barbed wire fences. Wallace acknowledges sheep and goats can require additional fencing. He reiterates goats can be beneficial for cedar control. Then the operator can decide if they want to run sheep or goats or both. I get tremendous carrying capacity from it." He grazes it in early May and returns to the area to re-graze every four to six weeks.įor others interested in multispecies grazing, Wallace advises a herd mix that provides a stocking rate based on pounds of animals of about 40% cattle, 40% sheep and 20% goats. He reports, "It's weedy, but they love to eat it. Wallace has cross-fenced the area into several small paddocks and grazes it. He tried to plant it to grass, but it has continued to be overgrown with weeds. Second, Wallace's land includes 17 acres of abandoned cattle feedlot pens. He reports that neighboring land has hundreds of ankle-high cedar trees, while Double M Ranch pastures do not. Meat Animal Research Center near Clay Center, Neb., from 1978 to 2012, has been impressed by two outcomes from multispecies grazing.įirst, he says including goats in his grazing has cleared his pastures of cedar trees. Wallace, who was the sheep operations manager at the U.S. Wallace uses holistic-planned grazing mapped out on a spreadsheet to give guidance to his rotations through the grazing year. Other than those exceptions, the herd runs together year-round and uses the same mineral. They return to the herd in May when young goat kids are a month old. Goats are drylotted from January to April to provide protection from the winter elements and to kid. Their land is a mixture of mid-tall grass prairie, former cropland and abandoned cattle feedlots.Ĭows calve mid-April, while sheep are put in a separate paddock in May for lambing, before returning to the herd. The Wallaces currently run 40 cows, 230 ewes and 40 nannies on several hundred acres that are cross-fenced into small paddocks for rotational grazing. "Because of the different species' preference, multispecies grazing works without negatively impacting the performance of the animal or sustainability of the resources," Wallace says. Wallace points out that because of the diverse range of plant species on the land, diversification of animals grazing the land also is important.Ĭattle prefer taller, coarse grasses sheep prefer forbs, shorter annual grasses and weedy species and goats browse brush and cedar trees, he says. Wallace and his wife, Fran, own and operate Double M Ranch and have been grazing sheep, cattle and goats together since 2000. Now for the public to see it."I believe there is an opportunity to benefit the range and economically benefit the operator." That's what Nelson, Neb., rancher Mike Wallace says of multispecies grazing, which involves grazing two or even three species of livestock together on rangeland. “It’s become a big deal because it’s so much more uncommon Miles through Sardine Canyon and pass through Brigham City neighborhoods, but rewardingĪs they get to show their sheep to the public as they pass by.
![running sheep herd running sheep herd](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/37/ca/6a/37ca6a9e5572d7b46f66f8748040cf1e.jpg)
Second day can be the most challenging because they have to get the sheep two The travel isn’t continuous however, Lane Jensen said the Karl and Lane Jensen are father and son who are the second and third generation ranchers on Eph Jensen Livestock and every year, they head out on a three-day journey to bring their sheep home. Onlookers stand anxiously on sidewalks and street corners watching the more than 2,000 sheep herd walk the streets. BRIGHAM CITY, Utah (ABC4 News) – For the last 84 years, local family ranchers bring their sheep from the high-country mountains of Cache and Weber counties to Bear River City – traveling through the backcountry and roadways.īringing these sheep home requires the help of law enforcement to stop southbound traffic on Highway 89/91 in Sardine Canyon while the sheep travel from Mantua to Brigham City, and eventually Bear River.